Windows 7 End of Life

[ExL]

I am new to MX Linux, and am making the switch, because Windows 7 is nearing its end of life. I know several other people who have Windows 7, and don't want Windows 10. If the transition from Win7 to MX-Linux were not too complicated for the casual user, there could be many other Linux converts over the coming months. Dual booting Win7 and MX-Linux is a logical first step, and gives the user time to explore Linux applications at their leisure.

There are many videos describing dual booting Windows & Linux, but they differ in their approach, which can be confusing for someone who is not familiar to Linux. There seems to be many ways the casual user could screw up a dual boot install by trying to follow the online instructions. One example would be to improperly install GRUB, which could render the PC unbootable.

With this in mind, it might be worthwhile to develop a MX-Linux install option that explicitly addresses add dual booting MX-Linux to a typical existing Win7 PC (either Legacy or UEFI). The current installer provides an "Automatic" option which would blow away Windows, and a "Custom" option which requires an understanding of Linux partitions and boot loaders. A third "Dual Boot with Windows" option would be handy.

Just a thought,
Ed

[manyroads]

That's already in the install....

Edit: Here's the screenshot re: your Window setting request:

[Eadwine Rose]

No it is not.

The user likely means a fully automatic option to shrink the win partition and then install mx linux next to it.

[Huckleberry Finn]

Yes. I agree with the suggestion.

As a real example, about one month ago, a new MX user (who was not that new to Linux but coming from Mint) thought MX would do that and erased Windows . On my first Linux days (with Mint) I appreciated that option and found it so "subtle". I believe and hope MX would do that soon.

Just by the way, the one in the picture: "Instal ... for ... Windows" confuses many new users. Maybe it can be simplified to "Install Grub" (or so) and an explanation says (on left or below) that "Grub bootloader will handle starting all systems including Windows if found .." etc

[SkOrPn]

The Windows user should be responsible for shrinking the Windows partition, NOT the Linux install. If you want dual boot space for Linux, then you boot into Windows and use Disk Manager to create that space for Linux, then you boot up the Live Linux USB and create a new Linux partition within that newly created space (preferably on a whole different drive). I wouldn't trust Linux to safely resize NTFS partitions with a ten foot pole. Disk Manager in Windows knows exactly how to do this safely.

With that said Windows 10 is far superior to Windows 7 in every way imaginable. Learn how to debloat it, remove all telemetry and shut it up for good and you have a system far more powerful than Windows 7 ever was. And with that said MX19 destroys both in every way imaginable, lol. I love my Windows 10 install, but I love my MX19 install even more... I own over 50 Windows 7 licenses and will not ever use it again, that was soooo last decade.

[chrispop99]

There would be risks to the users data if a Linux installer attempted to take charge of a dual boot setup. The first step needs to be to defrag the drive. This must be done within Windows. The second step is to shrink the Windows install to create free space. This is most safely done within Windows.

The best way for users of Windows machines to try out MX Linux is by using a USB 3 drive with persist_all set. As long as it is used in a USB 3 port, the speed will be great.

Perhaps a very simple way to set up such a USB drive might be a good option?

Chris

[Route99]

If you have a desktop and because hard disk need not to that big to install just Linux like MX Linux on it & such small hard disks are so cheap, consider another way of installing I prefer for many years.
How?
I installed completely independent on 3 disks the following OS:
1. Windows 7 later 10
2. Hackintosh (temporarily)
3. Linux, first Debian and now MX linux as test environment

So there is no extra boot manager installed on one of the disks as often with updates boot managers may get hurt... and you need to repair them and hope you are successful with that....

But how do you control your OS boot then?
Well... most motherboards do have a modern bios that contains a boot manager that becomes active after using F8 or F9 (look your MB manual..) and just choose the hard disk to boot that prioritize the OS you wanna start.

Even SSD's are so cheap, if you want you can do that, for the moment I'm running only Windows from the SSD. But that may change soon so I may choose tol et MX Linux also run from a SSD.

My data are always completely separated on the 4th hard disk, which makes backing up easier.
Depending upon you OS you need to choose what format your data disk needs to be in order to put data on it from your OS.

This way of working is so much more relaxing compared to use 1 bootmanager like GRUB or whatever else...

To be safe I always disconnect the other 2 disks when I install the 3rd OS, you never know.... I might make a mistake....

Give it a thought, this approach.

@chrispop99
A persistant bootable live USB is a very nice way to avoid boot manager complexity. In fact what you do is similar to what I do, but then on a free other hard disk.
For newbies I consider that easier than making a persistant bootable live USB, so it is up to them and look in the mirror...
Remember..: To be safe I always disconnect the other 2 disks when I install the 3rd OS, you never know.... you may also make a mistake....

You also can just make a normal USB bootable using Rufus under Windows and let it put the MX-live iso on that ....you have less options, but you can try MX Linux by booting from the USB stick.

[handy]

Why do people have to stop using Win7 because it is unsupported by MS?

I turned off MS support (& phone home) on my 2x Win7 installs years ago. As I consider MS to be a threat to individual privacy (& some).

If someone is looking to move to Linux, then it is not due to critical business software that will no longer be supported.

If a person doesn't go looking for trouble on the web, then they don't need to run anti-virus-malware software on Windows either.

Not a rant, just how it is.

[Huckleberry Finn]

Of course the best way is to shrink Windows partition within Windows, then open place manually with Gparted etc. But from the viewpoint of a newcomer from Windows...

Frankly: Linux Mint can do that !

Just as they say: Next, Next, Finish .

[JayM]

What would be nice is if there was a choice in the installer to do an automated installation using only the unallocated space on a disk rather than the entire disk. Then Windows users could defrag and shrink their Windows installations from within the Windows Disk Manager, then boot the MX installation medium and install MX without having to manually create partitions first, and let the installer take care of partitioning. That being said, I don't think there are any Linux distro installers that can do that. All the auto install selections I've seen will nuke the entire disk (along with Windows if it exists.)

I'm afraid the onus is on the computer's owner to either do their research and due diligence prior to installing a different OS and figure everything out, or take the computer to a shop and have it done. Installing an operating system, especially in a dual-boot configuration with Windows and particularly on a modern UEFI system, is probably not a job for someone who knows very little about computers. It's like swapping the engine in your car: not a job for a casual driver who knows little about automotive mechanics.